It's Game Time at Mall of America for Super Bowl 2018

A gold coin is being installed in the floor at Mall of America’s Nickelodeon Universe this week to mark the 50 yard line spot where 174 coin tosses occurred during the 20 seasons of Vikings games played at Metropolitan Stadium, which stood on the very ground the mall now occupies. For 25 years, MOA has played up its baseball history—there’s a home plate plaque in the theme park walkway and a chair above the log chute ride to mark Harmon Killebrew’s 522-foot home run. But with the mall poised to be a major hub of Super Bowl activity, it suddenly seemed important to its management to acknowledge that football was played here, too.

Although most of the official festivities surrounding Super Bowl 52 will take place in downtown Minneapolis, the 5.6 million-square-foot mall will offer fans an opportunity to get up close to the action—for free. The NFL media center is located in the MOA atrium. Fan Gallery in the Culinary on North food court is where radio hosts from around the country will conduct athlete interviews and broadcast their shows.

Perhaps the biggest coup: Both Super Bowl teams will stay at the two hotels connected to the mall. That made it an easy decision for the New England Patriots to set up their first-ever Super Bowl broadcast center at MOA. The Patriots grabbed a 12,000-square-foot-spot in the back of Culinary on North (formerly used for the Myth Busters installation). On Wednesday, they tore down the wall to begin turning the raw space into a studio (Tom Brady TV!). ESPN sportscaster Molly McGrath and her former colleague Jay Crawford will broadcast live from MOA all week, beginning Monday, January 29. The feed will go out through Patriots’ website. Fans are invited to come and watch—the studio will be open, or at least visible, to the public.

“Last year, we drove a bus from Boston to Houston with stops along the way. This year we wanted to step it up,” says Fred Kirsch, the Patriots’ vice president of publishing—who swears that the team did not dream up the broadcast booth until after last week’s win.

Super Bowl LII Fan Gallery at Mall of America, third floor, north side.

Just about every public space at Mall of America will be utilized for events next week. In the Rotunda, Best Buy’s Tech Zone will showcase 4K TVs and the latest smart devices. Under Armour is running workouts in Macy’s Court. The Courtyard Dome Experience in MOA’s West Market Square will immerse visitors in an on-the-field view of U.S. Bank Stadium. Nike, Microsoft, Macy’s, Lids, Sigma Beauty, Barnes & Noble, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Carlo’s Bakery are among more than 50 mall tenants planning Super Bowl-related events.

The more than 5,000 members of the media will pick up their Super Bowl credentials at the mall. And on Super Bowl Sunday, Mall of America will serve as a transportation hub. Ticket holders can go through security at MOA and hop a light rail train to the stadium (with a $30 game day pass.)

If mall management seems calm, it's because they've been planning for the Super Bowl for two years, Jasper says, with the assistance of law enforcement at all levels—local, state, and federal. Extra security is being brought in to manage the crowds, but in terms of protocol, “this is every day at Mall of America,” Jasper says. “We are always prepared, and proud of it.”

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Allison Kaplan is the former Shopping & Style editor for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. She is currently the Editor in Chief for Twin Cities Business magazine, and also a contributing editor for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine.